Guest Post By Syed Ahsan Ali.
President Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto have been in dialogue for sometime now. The dialogue has so far yielded nothing. As external forces are increasing pressures on both of them to find a way to from an arrangement that can fight greater challenges of militancy in the region, things are moving towards an alliance of moderate and liberal forces in the country.
Pakistan People’s Party is facing risk of losing huge public support by entering in this kind of dialogue. Polls are clearly showing that PPP‘s popularity is dwindling as this dialogue is getting towards its eventuality. Why PPP is doing this? Is there only external pressure or is there any real ideology behind these meneavours.
Benazir Bhutto may not have proven herself a successful Prime Minister in the last two chances she got, but certainly she has a far broader insight into international and national politics. She clearly holds an opinion that it is better to persuade Army to detach itself from the politics in Pakistan than to force it out of this whole set-up. She has two options. One is to create an atmosphere of bargain where she can offer an easy exit to Pakistan army from Presidency and accept democracy in return. Option number two is to launch full-fledge movement of confrontations, rallies, congregations, arrests and protests. Interestingly option two may be what Mian Nawaz Sharif will adopt in next few months if he gets back to Pakistan. Benazir thinks that after what happened in CJP episode it is a lot more easier now to involve Army in a table-talk where for the first time in the history of Pakistan, establishment felt tremors under its feet as a result of civil protests. Some in the Army may also be thinking that they have to find ways to get back to the barracks gracefully.
Now the million dollar question remains what is the most suitable way to find democracy in Pakistan? Protests and agitation or agreements and talks. Benazir‘s option has one bigger risk that Army can get back to the politics any time they want by breaking any kind of agreement and control the reins of governance. Nawaz Sharif‘s thinking on the other hand may be dangerous in this volatile situation of Pakistan but can be lot more fulfilling in the years to come. Public is certainly against any kind of agreement or deal with the establishment by democratic forces but they are missing a point here that it will not be easy at all to send Army back to its barracks by force. Some kind of negotiations with the Army have to bring in to avoid any kind of clashes in these precarious law and order conditions where Army has strong reasons to stay in control.
About the Author: Syed Ahsan Ali holds a masters degree in Economics and is a writer by profession. He occasionally writes for the daily News and the daily Dawn also.
sad…….its so sad that one has to say “peaceful muslim”, if he wanna introduce himself as a muslim. i’ve never heard anything like peaceful hindu,peaceful christian, peaceful sikh, peaceful parsi or peaceful jew.
bb is like any other politician. she’s trying to get back, like nawaz sharif. but she can afford to do it on the table. i think pakistan cann’t afford more trouble. i respect nawaz sharif but this is not the right time for aggitation.we allready have enough chaos. he should go back, go to people and try to educate them and more importantly educate himself. he can be a better person than bb but she deffinitely is better a politician.
if it was in my powers i’ll go for imran. he’s my man.
but right now get rid of that blood sucker.
even a KALA CHAUR would be better than him
It’s amazing how a a simple question can sometime concentrate one’s mind. This morning the Supreme Court asked Musharraf’s lawyer, Sharifuddin Pirzada: “Just tell us, by tomorrow morning, when does the present term of the president expire? ”
Whatever answer they come up with, the president’s team will spend a sleepless night tonight. You might have noticed the president’s men are already showing signs of extreme stress. Wasi Zafar’s ” mustache has turned totally gray; the new Attorney General sounds increasingly breathless and — the miracle of miracles — Shuj of Guj has suddenly become articulate.
hi friends. Interesting topic. Well, I think that we will have to solve our problems ourselves. Unfortunately, history tells us that US driven solutions have been imposed on us. Be it Zia’s dictatorship, Musharaf’s u-turns or today’s BB-Musharaf dialogue US pressure has always been there. It was really high time for the polticians and people of Pakistan to decide their fate themslves but apparently it looks like that pro ammerican khaki establishment is winning the ground again by cracking a deal with PPP’s Benazir. I am afraid that Musharaf’s integrity is so doubtful that he will use Benazir and ditch her once his goals are achieved. We have not forgotten the fact that he deceived his B-Team (MMA- Mullah Military Ittehad) in 2003-4 when he got 17th amendment passed with the help of MMA but then did not doff his uniform in spite of his promise to Mullahs and the nation (He promised this to the whole nation on PTV).
In the final analysis, if the powers and resources of the Establishment (that is to say of the State and the Awam) are used for the maximization of private greed and gain, and if the operational ethic is ?looking out for number one?, than the culture of greed and selfishness will be chronic and corruption will keep Pakistan?s development retarded, sliding Pakistan into bankruptcy and further anarchy.
Check this site to refresh memory: http://www.samsloan.com/benazir.htm
Dear Prof. Adil Najam. I read your article in The News about Politial Circus two days ago. It is brilliant analysis and I think captures feeling of many Pakistanis perfectly.